Buc-ee’s: from convenience store to Texas institution

Any long car trip will often involve a stop at a roadside convenience store. Drivers and passengers can pick up snacks, fuel up their vehicles and take a quick pit stop. In most cases, these stops are forgettable blips on the way to the travelers’ final destination. When these stops are memorable, it’s often for the worst possible reasons: lack of snack food variety, poor service and bathrooms that resemble the Pit of Calcutta.

And then, there’s Buc-ee’s.

Not only does this popular convenience store chain offer an enjoyable experience for the traveler on the way to their destination, many locations have become desirable destinations themselves. Since 1982, Buc-ee’s founders Arch “Beaver” Aplin and Don Wasek have prided themselves on providing clean restrooms, top-notch customer service and a wide variety of road food selections in each of their locations.

Travelers from across the country and around the world have stopped into Buc-ee’s to pick up its famous beef jerky and the caramel-flavored corn snacks known as “Beaver Nuggets”. These stores also feature a wide array of snacks unique to Texas, including candied jalapenos, chips and queso and pickled quail eggs.

The New Braunfels location is not only the largest convenience store in the U.S., at over 68,000 square feet, but it was certified by Cintas as having the cleanest bathrooms in the industry. The site also has a bronze statue of the company’s mascot, a beaver in a red baseball cap.

The chain has become so popular across the state that it has spawned its own line of merchandise. Travelers can pick up T-shirts, key chains, infant onesies and children’s toys that feature the buck-toothed mascot.

While traffic and weather patterns can make travel through Texas unpredictable, drivers can count on Buc-ee’s as the place where they can relax, fuel up, and take care of their needs in a clean, safe setting.